Thriving Without

I'm a Christian wife & homeschooling mama, saved by faith through grace. I changed my family's diet from SAD (Standard American Diet) to healthy, delicious & nutritious traditional foods. I've recently discovered there's a name for the way that I eat. It's called Primal or Paleo (I like the diet and think of the men and women who worked hard from sunup to sundown, constantly on the go, eating meat, berries they picked, cheese they made. I do not believe in evolution). No grains, legumes, refined sugars, and no/limited dairy.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

I kept trying various cake in a mug, because if I make a whole cake, I WILL eat it. I found a couple that were close to what I wanted, but still didn't quite do it for me. So, one day, I realized a component of my favorite chocolate cake from Paleo Spirit had something most cakesmug called don't - coconut flour. It gives her chocolate cake the perfect texture. I added a tablespoon to the mug cake is made up and viola! Perfect! Yummy hot or cold!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Fat Bombs were created to give a little satiety and blood sugar boost, and possibly a chocolate fix when you really need one. They're delicious and quite nutritious! An easy way to get that oh so good for you coconut oil in! (Carrington Farms oil is available at Costco for a very reasonable price, and is a good brand!)

Process until it starts to look a little wet - that's the oil separating from the coconut. You don't want it to separate too much, or all the chewy stuff will be on the bottom and you'll have a layer of oil on the top, which isn't super pleasant to eat. Or maybe that's just me and my texture issues ;)

I was talking with a dear friend about budgeting groceries, easy meals and snacks. She wanted the ideas written down, so here they are. I'm sure I won't be able to remember them all now, lol.

I can't afford to buy most things organic at this point in our lives, so I do the best I can. We get meat at Costco and sometimes from farmers. I am able to get some frozen organic vegetables, organic fresh baby carrots and salad at Costco for good prices.
I shop at Aldi for most of my other food. They have great prices and good variety on fruits & veggies. Aldi is a great company and treat their employees well. They have processed foods, but they also have a lot of whole foods. I use their raw almonds to make almond milk. A bag of almonds at $4.29 makes over a gallon of almond milk for my family.

I do meals pretty basic - meat, veggie and sometimes fruit.

Pork loin - cut your own or buy precut. Season to taste. Bake at 350 for 30minutes or until done. Some seasonings could include: coconut aminos (use in place of soy sauce), honey and garlic for a teriyaki type flavor; honey; honey mustard; crush pork rinds and add taco seasoning (I make my own with cumin, oregano, salt, chili powder and garlic powder), dip pork in crumbs and fry in coconut oil or bacon grease.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

It's been three and a half months since our MRT tests and modifying our diets to remove our sensitivities.

E4 was 17lbs in January and now she is 21lbs 9oz! She started sleeping through the night within a couple weeks of changing our diets. She's very chubby and solid and happy (when she's not acting like a cranky toddler ;). She even has neck rolls that I have to clean out! That was never a problem until the last few weeks!

I'm also feeling better, my stomach isn't hurting when I eat, thanks to some healing with Gastrazyme, my stools are pretty regular/normal, my skin is pretty clear and I feel pretty good.

It is clear to me that the test was accurate, through the dramatic change in my little lady (whose chubby feet can be seen above). Over 4 1/2lbs in under four months is pretty amazing. She's absorbing nutrients and she is not nursing for 95% of her calories. It's a relief to know what's going on and have her feeling better, with some pressure off of me. Sleep improvements have been quite wonderful, as well.

I have some friends who are doing the MRT testing, I'm looking forward to seeing their results and hope that they get the help they need, as we have.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Hen I was sick a couple weeks ago, all I wanted was a frosty. But because of refined sugar and dairy, I couldn't have one from Wendy's. So I asked some friends for help, and my friend, Kristen, showed me a recipe for mousse and said to add ice and blend it.
The first time I made it, I didn't follow the directions and added too much cacao powder, but it was still yummy.
The second time, it was perfect.
The third time, I tried following the recipes use of dates for sweetener, but there were hard pieces.
The forth time, I made up my own recipe, using my experience from the first three times and viola! Delicious!!!